Management of a thermostat's power consumption
First Claim
1. A thermostat for controlling an operating state of an HVAC system comprising:
- a power consuming user interface for setting and displaying the operating state of the HVAC system;
a sensor for detecting a proximity of a user to the user interface; and
electronics connected to the user interface and to the sensor for controlling the user interface based on user proximity.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An HVAC system comprises a programmable wireless thermostat and a remote receiver unit. The thermostat includes a user interface having one or more displays, user input devices, such as buttons, sliders, or a touch screen, and a backlight. The thermostat may include a proximity sensor, wherein the user interface is controlled based on a user'"'"'s presence near the thermostat. A thermostat controller enters into a reduced energy consumption mode and switches the user interface to an idle state when the proximity sensor indicates a lack of user proximity for a predetermined duration. When the proximity sensor indicates user proximity, the controller exits the reduced energy consumption mode and switches the user interface to an active state. During the reduced energy consumption mode, the user interface may be concealed when the user interface is in a housing which is transparent when backlit but is opaque otherwise.
420 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A thermostat for controlling an operating state of an HVAC system comprising:
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a power consuming user interface for setting and displaying the operating state of the HVAC system;
a sensor for detecting a proximity of a user to the user interface; and
electronics connected to the user interface and to the sensor for controlling the user interface based on user proximity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. The thermostat of claim I including a housing that is transparent to at least one color of a backlight and the user interface including a source of light and being mounted inside the housing such that the user detection causes the source of light to illuminate the user interface, which makes the user interface visible from the exterior of the housing.
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15. A method for controlling the power consuming state of a thermostat in an HVAC system, the method comprising:
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normally maintaining a user interface of the thermostat in an idle state;
detecting a proximity of a user to the user interface; and
switching the user interface to an active state in response to detecting proximity of a user. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for operating a thermostat for an HVAC system in which a user interface of the thermostat is within a housing that is transparent when backlit, the method comprising:
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normally maintaining a state in which a user interface is not visible to a user;
detecting a user of the thermostat; and
illuminating the user interface, thereby rendering it visible to the user. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification